puppet strings
by a-prickly-rose
Summary: Nikolai Arlofsky is an assassin. Life was a simple series of steps at first: take an order, kill target, repeat. This was until he was forced to take a job with the clumsy yet endearing Soo Jin Im. And then everything went to hell. [nyo!s.koreaxnyo!belarus] [nyo!korbela]
1. Prologue:Conflict (PaI)

_**Title:**_ _Puppet Strings_

 _ **Author:** Whiskey Bloodsbane Pincher_

 _ **Genre(s):** Crime, Romance_

 _ **Pairing(s)** : Nyo!Korbela, Het!Rochu, Het!UsUk, Nyo!Spamano and various other het/yaoi/yuri pairings._

 _ **Rating** : T_

 _ **Summary:** Nikolai Arlofsky is an assassin. Life was a simple series of steps at first: take an order, kill target, repeat. This was until he was forced to take a job with the clumsy yet endearing Soo Jin Im. And then everything went to hell._

 _ **Warnings:** Groping (it's South Korea, okay?), bad language, blood, death and all other wonderful things that come with a mafia-ish!au._

 _ **a/n:** Well. I really love KorBela and it deserves some love. So. Yeah. Here you go._

* * *

 **PUPPET STRINGS**

 **Prologue:** _Conflict_ **  
(Part I)**

 ** _Minds, Unlike..._**

* * *

 ** _Nikolai Arlofsky_**

 _Silence._

It's the strangest thing in the world. Human beings are social creatures. Wherever they go, noise and unrest follow. So, silence in their presence is unsettling. It's unnatural. It's not meant to be.

But, there are people out there. People like me. The people who snuff out the noise. They create the silence. By destroying the humans.

Can we still be called human?

Can a man who, under the numbness, _enjoys_ destroying his victims be called human?

No.

It can't be helped. Watching someone die before your eyes causes a strange sense of euphoria. Seeing the light slowly die from their eyes, makes ones heart beat faster. The blood dripping down and pooling beneath the victim hypnotizes you.

It's beautiful, dying. You just have to notice the small things.

You may call me screwed up.

I will agree with you.

I am, indeed, a major screwed up person. And so are you. Everyone is screwed up in one way or the other.

If you disagree, you're either ignorant or just in plain denial.

But as you can see, some people tend to be more screwed up.

A knife dripping with blood repulses you; a knife dripping with blood attracts me.

I kill, I enjoy.

Yes, _'screwed up'_ does define people like me, doesn't it?

Our pasts shape us. Screwed up pasts, screwed up people.

Killing your father in a fit of rage at the age of nine is counted as a screwed up past, isn't it?

I feel a flicker of an unwanted emotion sometimes. _Siastra_ calls it guilt. She says she feels it too, sometimes. It's a hassle, really, this _'guilt'_. It makes me feel sad. And sadness is also an unwanted emotion. Love, grief, pain, guilt, sadness – these emotions are tiresome and unworthy for a man like me.

A murderer. A butcher. An assassin. A killer.

A freak.

People cannot be mended. What's done cannot be undone. I cannot run away from my mistakes.

 _Praŭda surovaja , alie heta praŭda_ _._

The truth is harsh, but it is the truth.

Isn't that just lovely?

I am a freak and that's all there is to it. I was at peace with the sole knowledge of this fact.

Until I met her.

Being around her is strange. I feel the unwanted emotions. They accost me violently wherever I go, whatever I do. They stick to me like flies on a dead body. They creep up to me in my dreams.

I don't like it.

I'm losing grip on who I thought I was.

My cold façade is slipping. A new unwanted emotion has risen – fear.

Because now, I don't know who, or even _what_ , I am.

* * *

 ** _useless author's useless a/n:_**

 _TRANSLATIONS:_

 _(Belarusian)_

 _Siastra: Sister_

 _Praŭda surovaja , alie heta praŭda: The truth is harsh, but it is the truth. (this line was tweaked from the original where the word 'truth' is 'law'. Dramatic? Yes. Unnecessary? Yup. I suck? Definitely)_


	2. Prologue:Emotions (PaII)

**Prologue:** _Emotions_ **  
** **(Part II)**

 ** _...Yet Like_**

* * *

 ** _Im Soo Jin_**

Happiness is strange, isn't it?

It's so. . .out of place.

In a world so dark, so unreal, happiness is strange. You never know the difference between being _happy_ happy or just fake-happy. Humans are sloppy that way. The never _know,_ they never _see_.

It's easy to take advantage of that.

You know how they say smiles will get you nowhere. They have never been so wrong. Smiles will get you everywhere.

Especially if you're a killer.

Killing is detestable. But sometimes a girl's gotta do what she's gotta do.

I am a bad person. A very bad person.

But it's who I am. It's lovely to accept who you are, isn't it?

We humans are unchangeable, after all.

It's better to accept this and move on. Unless you want to wallow around in despair.

Ha.

I make myself fake-laugh.

 _Hyeongje_ says that we are the angels of death. The _sǐwáng tiānshǐ._ We lay the final judgment on the people. We are the rulers of their fates.

I think that's supposed to make us proud of what we do.

It doesn't.

It just reminds me of what we do. Extinguishing lives.

 _Poof._

Death.

The worse thing about it is that it is so ridiculously easy. Death is always hovering above our shoulders. We just give him a little push. We just whisper, our voices as soft as a feather – 'He needs sleep. Won't you help us give him some?'

And he descends upon his victims willingly. He lets them sleep forevermore.

So easy, so easy.

I dream sometimes. Of how life was before _hyeongje_ found me. Whenever I feel a flicker of unease over a kill, I remind myself of them. Of how much better this life is than the Black Hole.

At least here, I have a family; however screwed up it might be. At least here, I don't have to wake up every day thinking that this was the day my life will end.

This makes me fake-happy. I fake-smile in the darkness.

Ah, fake-bliss. It's so peaceful.

I am broken beyond repair because I'm human. And humans are fragile creatures. I am so broken.

But do I deserve to be broken?

Me, who has snuffed out the lives of countless other broken souls?

Morality is an alien subject.

A monster that hides behind a fake-happy façade. That's me.

I was comfortable with this fact. I had spent countless hours thinking and decided that yes, I was at peace.

Until I met him.

Something drew me to him. I seek something in him. _Companionship._

I don't like it.

I am losing grip on who I thought I was.

The fake-happy façade is slipping; the monster is rearing its ugly face. I am afraid.

Because now, I don't know who, or even _what_ , I am.

* * *

 ** _useless author's useless a/n:_**

 _(Korean)_

 _Sǐwáng tiānshǐ: Angel of death_

 _Hyeongje: Brother_

 _Please review/follow/favorite it if you remotely like it ^-^ But the updates are going to be slow, mind you. I, being an idiot, have decided to start multiple writing projects and I can feel another plot bunny making its way inside my head, Ugh. On top of this, school. Kill me, please._

 _So, I need motivation. I will only continue if y'all want me to. Savvy? SO SHOOT ME A REVIEW!_


	3. Chapter 1: Meeting

_**a/n:** And thus, I have moved on from the major writer's block I've had for three weeks. God, what a bother. _  
_Anyhoo, here's the first chapter. A few thing you should note first is that Nikolai loves his sister yes, and he had entertained the thought of marrying her when he was young and naive, but he's moved on. Also, this chapter is not edited. Please overlook the mistakes._  
 _Now read on and enjoy(hopefully)~_

* * *

 **Chapter 1:** _Meeting_

* * *

Nikolai Arlofsky shoved open the glass doors to Braginski Insurance HQ as he walked in and was greeted by a blast of frigid air. Coincidentally, the frigidness of the air was quite like his mood at that moment. But his demeanor was _always_ frigid as the honey blond receptionist had noted during the few times he visited his sister. Although now, he radiated even more subdued anger than normal to her confusion. She offered him the usual tentative smile which, not to her surprise, was not returned.

'Good morning, Mr. Arlofsky. Here to visit Ms. Braginski?'

'Yes.' Nikolai said coldly, and continued on, 'Someone parked their car in my spot. Blue Moskvich 412. A strange flag on the bumper. Please don't let that happen again.'

'I'm sorry,' came the light reply, 'It's a visitor's car. It'll go away soon. I'll make sure this does not happen again.'

Nikolai nodded curtly and walked past her to the elevator. As he waited for the annoyingly slow hunk of metal to arrive, the receptionist spoke again but this time her voice's sweetness seemed to have shifted into something darker.

'I suppose the job's done?'

'It is. The trash has been disposed off,' Nikolai replied determinedly looking into his reflection's dull blue eyes imprinted on the metal door of the elevator.

'Good,' the receptionist mused, her voice regaining its gentleness. 'That's good.'

Just then the elevator arrived with a pleasant _ting!_ and Nikolai moved to step in. As the doors slid shut, the woman said, 'Your sister has some visitors over whom she wants you to meet.'

Nikolai blinked, his emotionless façade slipping for a second.

'Visitors?' he said, his voice betraying his confusion, 'Madeleine, what do you mean by that?'

Whatever Madeleine replied was muffled as the doors closed. Nikolai's brow drew together in confusion as he punched the button to the tenth floor. His sister rarely sent for him, and almost never introduced him to people. He had a sneaking suspicion that she was afraid that he'd scare them away. So why now?

When the doors finally slid open, Nikolai walked out swiftly, making his way through the mess of cubicles and people to the set of doors at the far end. People spread apart on seeing him, their eyes widening; many of them even let out squeals of fear. Nikolai almost snorted. Weaklings.

He couldn't blame them. They were just ordinary people roped into a company – which was involved in things much deeper than just insurance policies – and he was a cold-blooded killer. He guessed it showed on his face, the way he carried himself; the stench of death sticks to one, after all. It can be sensed.

He paused just outside the door with a large emblazoned plate stating:

 _'ANYA BRAGINSKI_

 _THE DIRECTOR'_

Nikolai raised his hand and knocked softly. The voices inside paused for a moment.

'Ah, Nikolai is here,' he heard his sister's muffled sweet voice, 'Come in.'

He gently opened the door and slipped in.

'Hello, _siastra_.'

'Uh..hello, Nikolai.'

Trying to ignore the way his sister had cringed on seeing him and the sudden awkward atmosphere, he turned his attention to the other two people in the room –

– and grimaced inwardly. There stood none other than his sister's fiancé Yao, the manager of the more covert affairs of the company. His long black hair was laid in a ponytail over his shoulder as usual and was wearing his traditional Chinese attire. He had probably come straight from a date with Anya. Nikolai scowled slightly and the man shrunk back on seeing Nikolai's gaze upon him.

Next to her stood a woman Nikolai couldn't recognize. Her brown hair was pulled back in a long braid but one stubborn strand of hair seemed to have refused to stay down. She was clad in a simple sweater and jeans. And she seemed to be the only one not deterred by seeing him. In fact, she _grinned_ at him a little too wildly, which left him slightly taken aback.

She was also the first one to break the silence.

'So!' she said, practically jumping towards him and holding her hand out, 'You're the famous Nikolai Arlofsky I've been hearing so much about. I'm Soo Jin, Yao-Yao's sister. Nice to meet you da ze!'

Soo Jin? Im Soo Jin? The woman who was said to be the best female agent in the company? The one who had completed every single one of her missions with complete accuracy? This idiot was her?

 _What a disappointment_ , he thought grimly.

Nikolai stared at her, then her hand and then back at her.

Undeterred, Soo Jin let her hand fall down to her side and continued on.

'Hey, hey~ We're gonna be working together so you gotta be more friendly. Like me! Friendliness was made in Korea, da ze! Uri nara mansae!'

Most of what she was saying went over Nikolai's head but he could make out one thing from it and it, to put it gently, displeased him greatly.

'Work together?' he said, ice coating his words, 'I don't work together with anyone.'

'Nikolai.' his sister's voice broke in, 'Please. It's just one job. For me.'

Nikolai turned to look at his sister only to be met with her unflinching gaze looking back at him with her soft violet eyes. He sighed and lowered his head in submission. He would do anything for his sister. He had to do it if it was for her. He had taken that oath a long time ago.

'For you, _siastra_ ,' he muttered.

'Thank you, Nikolai.'

He looked up to find Anya smiling at him for once. It warmed his heart to see those smiles; one could say he lived for them. He loved his sister more than anything in the damned world. She was the one who had saved him from a terrible fate, after all. And even though he was sure that he scared her with his devotion and love, he knew he would love her.

Even if she didn't love him in return.

'Stop that, aru!'

The siblings turned simultaneously to see Soo Jin… _groping Yao's breasts_?

'Your breasts belong to Korea, da ze!'

Nikolai watched bemused as Yao tried in vain to prise Soo Jin's hands off his non-existent breasts. He felt himself pale. Goodness, was he going to be stuck with this crazy Korea-and-breast-obsessed woman for a job that would last for god knows how many days?

Anya laughed slightly and raised a hand which seemed to miraculously hold a spade for some reason.

'Soo Jin, you'll let go of Yao now, da?' she said sweetly, her smile widening.

Soo Jin paused and drew her hands away quickly, a flicker of fear passing her face. Nikolai felt his heart swell with something akin to pride for his sister. No one could dare to face her.

'Alright then,' Yao said, catching his breath, 'So we should give them their jobs now, aru?'

Anya nodded and gestured them to sit down on the seats in front of her desk.

'Sit down, da? Let us start.'

As Nikolai sat down, he felt a sense of foreboding creep down his spine. He had a feeling he was not going to like this job at all. A personal invitation, being partnered with one of the best agents and a one-on-one briefing?

Yeah, this was definitely not going to be fun.

* * *

 ** _useless author's useless a/n:_** _Y_ _es, Madeleine is Fem!Canada. I have some plans for her. *evil grin*  
Please, please leave review. You'll be as awesome as Prussia if you do! Not that you all already aren't. Eh, it was worth a try._

 _Well, until the next chapter then!  
Weee~_


	4. Chapter 2: Mission

_**a/n:** Hello lovelies~ _  
_Thanks for the amazing reviews!_

 _Listenerofshadows: First review! Thank you, love. I'm glad you liked it. I know that the pairing is unusual, but I love their dynamics so I just went with it. And Maddie, yep. I'm going to have some fun with her. -insert evil laugh-_  
 _Cielorea: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it:)_  
 _PandaYuki-Chibi: THANK YOU :D Yes, the Nordics are going to make an entrance because I love them. And as for the micronations, Sealand is definitely going to make an appearance some time. I don't really know about the others. I'll just go with the flow, I guess._  
 _InterDimensionalStoryteller: YOU FLATTER ME x3 Thank you for reviewing! Here's the update :D  
_  
 _'Bratva' is Russian for 'Brotherhood'. Incidentally, it is also what the Russian mafia is called. Soo Jin her refers to the shady part of the company as the Bratva, but it's not the mafia. Just clearing this up._  
 _So here we go~ I apologize in advance for any grammatical errors. -le bows-_

* * *

 **Chapter 2: Mission**

* * *

'What the hell?'

Soo Jin couldn't believe it. The 'job' as Anya had delicately put it, was… _this_? Something so atrocious, so disgusting, so _immoral_ – even by _her_ standards, which were pretty goddamn low in her opinion. Wrenching her gaze from the image of the very familiar man with overlarge eyebrows on the holographic screen in front of her and turned to look at her brother, her lips twitched into a forced smile.

'What. The. Hell?' she repeated as her brother stared back impassively at her. 'What the fuck is wrong with you?'

'You!' she turned to the emotionless man beside her, 'I know you know Artie. Everyone does. Why aren't you speaking up?'

Nikolai looked up from studying the screen and only spared her an irritated glance.

'A job's a job. No questions asked.'

What a prick. A definitely _handsome_ prick, but a prick nonetheless.

'You slimy, bed-wetting, gooey son of a mutan-'

'Soo Jin, aru,' her brother muttered uncomfortably, 'I know this may… _unsettle_ you but-'

'Unsettle me?' Soo Jin spat out, standing up roughly. Her chair tipped backwards, wobbling unsteadily. 'Of course it unsettles me! He is one of us, dammit! He is-'

'-compromised,' Anya said, cutting her off, a smile plastered on her face. But it held no warmth.

Soo Jin had nothing to say to that.

'Listen, Soo Jin,' Yao said softly, 'I know that Arthur Kirkland is – _was_ – one of your comrades-'

' _He saved my life, da-ze!_ '

'- _aiyah!_ Alright, he saved your life _once_ but he has now become a threat to the Bratva! He hasn't been replying to our messages, and has seemingly disappeared off the planet. He knows too much and on top of this, is in close contact with the Iroas. The Iroas is hell-bent on taking the Bratva down, as I'm sure you already know. One slip of the tongue and our cover will be blown. I'm sorry, Soo Jin, aru, but this is an emergency elimination.'

Soo Jin sank back into her seat; her legs seemed to be too weak to hold her up _. An EE?_ Arthur Kirkland was one of the most loyal agents she had ever met. He was annoying, sure, and going out drinking with him was a complete nightmare, but his presence always commanded some sort of respect from her. He was the best spy in the Bragainski Bratva. She couldn't believe that he had just abandoned a mission. There had to be something she was missing.

'Can we get to the point already?' Nikolai said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

'Da, I was getting to that,' Anya said pleasantly, touching the screen and moving Arthur's picture to the side. Another person's face popped up beside his – this time a girl's.

'This,' Anya said as she turned to look at them, 'is the Iroas – Amelia F. Jones.'

'….she doesn't look special.'

Soo Jin frowned and leaned forward, scrutinizing the girl. She had to agree with the emotionless idiot at that. She had blonde, shoulder-length hair clipped on either sides with red pins and vivid blue eyes. She was pretty, that was certain, and had a wide grin on her face. In all, she looked like one of those stereotypical Americans fresh out of college with their big dreams which would most likely fail.

'But,' Yao said,' she is the one who has killed more than fifty of our agents and stopped more than a hundred jobs. It's getting quite tiresome, aru.'

'Well, what does this have to do with Arthur, da-ze?'

'Arthur was told to infiltrate that nosy American company,' Anya said, an eerie smile stretching across her face, 'find the Iroas' identity and await further instructions. Everything was going perfectly, da? Jones was revealed to be the face behind the Iroas and so, he was ordered to eliminate her. Which he didn't.'

'He didn't even reply to us, aru. And killed whomsoever we sent after him!'

'Da.' Anya said, 'Also, he knows too much being one of our top agents, as Yao-Yao has already mentioned.'

Soo Jin sank back into her seat, digesting the information. Arthur and she had never been that close but he was a figure that had always been there in her life, and the idea of killing him seemed a little insensitive. He was a part of their family – however cracked up and twisted the family was. And family meant protecting each other. Not killing each other on _orders._ Soo Jin hated herself for feeling like this. Indulging in making friends was always a bad idea but no, she had to go and make deep connections with everybody. In a life like hers, she had no business making 'friends'. Family and friends lead to morality and loyalty – two things she never liked to think about. And they always led to this. Drowning in guilt – a pitch black void of emptiness with one torn between killing himself and killing everyone else.

So now she had no other choice. Orders were orders. If she was ordered to kill Arthur Kirkland, she will kill Arthur Kirkland.

'Alright then,' Soo Jin said hollowly, 'Get this fucking over with.'

Yao nodded, gazing sympathetically at his adoptive sister.

'Sure, aru. Anya?'

His fiancé nodded and turned to the duo in front of her.

'So, you understand now, da? The last time we came in contact with Mr. Kirkland was in Italy. We have an agent posted there and have also sent for a backup agent to help her. Now you both will go there with the research team and help.'

'Help?' Nikolai spoke up, leaning forward with his brows furrowed, 'We're assassins. Killers. Not researchers.'

Anya smiled nervously at him to which Soo Jin frowned slightly. Why did the Russian woman act so skittish around her _brother_?

'Da, but you know Arthur. He's the best at what he does. He is stealthy and deadly. With the Iroas by his side, he might just be invincible. So we _need_ you to be there. You're the top agents in the Bratva and are our only hope in bringing him down, preferably along with the Iroas. I'm putting my trust in you.'

'Da. Fine then.'

How Nikolai took things so flippantly, Soo Jin would never know. She would have sent him an irritated glance but she was too preoccupied thinking about the mess she had been dragged into.

'Alright,' she said, 'We go there, find him – _if_ he's still there which is quite unlikely – and kill him. Bonus points if we kill the Iroas.'

'That's about it, aru,' he brother said, smiling uncomfortably.

'But what if he _isn't_ there? What do we do then?'

'Well, that's simple,' Anya smiled unnervingly and looked at both of them, 'You go on another trip.'

'So you mean that we are going to travel around the freaking world if he isn't there?'

'Da. It's a very long mission. And a very important one. Arthur Kirkland has to die.'

'What if I say no?'

Yao walked forward and laid a hand on his sister's shoulder.

' _He_ will kill you,' he said softly.

Soo Jin clenched her fists. Of course. No one knew who _he_ was, but rumours had run rampant on agents who disobeyed the Bratva's orders vanishing. He was the _real_ Director of the Bratva. Anya Braginski was probably the only one who had ever saw _him_ and returned back alive.

'This is so unfair, da-ze,' Soo Jin mumbled.

'But you can't do anything about it, da? Let us move on.'

'Da, siastra's right. Stop moping.' Nikolai said. Soo Jin's face flushed and she glared at him. Rotten, poopy son of a bi-

'Stop cursing me inside your head. It's annoying.'

Soo Jin looked at him, startled.

'Hey!' she said in an agitated voice, 'Who said I was cursing your sorry ass, da ze? I have better things to do than that!'

Nikolai coughed out something that suspiciously sounded like 'liar'.

'Well,' Anya broke in, smiling happily, 'Looks like you both will get along just fine.'

Soo Jin snorted.

'Sure, da ze.'

Soo Jin squeaked as a dark aura began to emit behind the European siblings and scrambled up to hide behind her brother. Yao stepped in quickly.

'Anya, the passports?'

Anya's face suddenly relaxed into a smile and she nodded. 'Da!' She opened one of her desk drawers and rummaged around a bit to finally take out two passports, two airplane tickets and a sheaf of other paperwork. She tossed their new identities onto their side.

'We decided to keep your names the same. Being tourists will help, da?' Anya said while the other two examined their respective papers, 'But we did make a slight-'

'WHAT THE _HELL_ IS A _MRS._ SOO JIN IM, DA-ZE?'

'-change,' Anya finished, not seeming the least bit disturbed by Soo Jin's outburst.

'You're married, aru. At least, fake-married. Did we not mention that?'

' _No you didn't!_ Why would you do this?'

'It's more believable this way, da?'

'But..but, with _that jerk_?'

Soo Jin pointed at said jerk distastefully, who just scoffed.

'Yeah, don't flatter yourself. Don't worry, I don't want to get fake-married to _that_ either.'

' _That_? What do you mean by _that_? Excuse you, I'll be the perfect wife, da-ze! I make the best kimchi ever!'

'Oh, that makes everything perfect. Making kimchi automatically makes you the perfect wife. _Yeah, right_.'

'Um, guys?' Yao's voice broke in but Soo Jin ignored him.

'Don't you dare insult the name of kimchi, you peasant, da-ze!'

'Aru! Anya doesn't look happy…'

'You've been playing too many weird video games. You really need to work on your insults.'

'Oh, the spade's out, aru.'

'For your _kind_ information, insults originated from South Korea, da-ze!'

Soo Jin felt a hand grasp her sweater's back and was thrown through the door. She yelped as she fell on the hard ground. As she made to get up, another body slammed into hers pushing her down. She groaned.

'Get…off…me..da..ze!'

Nikolai struggled to pull himself up and scowled at her.

'Oh shut up. It's not like I'm enjoying this.'

A pile of papers hit their faces and Anya normally deceptive sweet voice yelled at them:

'Be at the airport by 9 AM tomorrow, da? Don't dare to be late.'

Then her voice dissolved into a series of ' _Kolkolkolkol'_ s.

Nikolai finally manage to get himself off her and started to collect the papers spread on the ground. Suddenly Soo Jin became aware of the silence in the room. She stood up unsteadily to find all the workers looking at them wearing terrified expressions on their faces. Nikolai shoved her ticket, passport and Mission Analysis to her roughly and turned to look at the employees.

'What? Go back to work.'

And they did. Gee, the guy was a little too creepy.

Nikolai started to walk towards the elevator and Soo Jin scrambled to follow him.

'Damn, man, these guys are _terrified_ of you, da-ze!'

'I'm aware of that,' Nikolai replied coldly, slamming the elevator button.

'You look like a prissy though,' Soo Jin said and then sighed dramatically, 'Humans. I'll never understand them, da-ze. If only life was a video game.'

Nikolai ignored her and walked in the elevator. Soo Jin scurried inside after him.

'You should talk more, da-ze~!'

'You should keep your trap shut more.'

Soo Jin stuck her tongue out at him. Bastard. They remained silent throughout their walk toward the opening doors. Soo Jin smiled and waved at Madeleine while walking out, who returned the gesture. Nikolai snorted.

'What's your problem, da-ze?'

'Nothing.'

Nikolai turned to look at her disapprovingly.

'Don't be late tomorrow.'

'Of course I won't! Punctuality was made in Korea, da-ze!'

'Sure. Now go away.'

Nikolai had only taken a few steps towards his car and glanced behind to look at the energetic Korean – he was worried that she may have face-planted in the road or something, he _definitely_ didn't want to see her pretty face one last time – and stopped short when he saw her skipping off to...

Of course. Who else would have stolen his parking spot? He saw her notice him looking at her and she waved enthusiastically.

He showed her the finger.

* * *

 ** _useless author's useless a/n:_** _-facedesk- This probably sucks. I'm sorry. Yeah, I totally switched POVs in that last paragraph. Damn me to the deepest pits of Tartarus.  
FUN FACT: Iroas is 'heroas' which is 'hero' in English. 'Tis Greek. I think it fits America, no?_

 _Review if you think I'm worthy of it. If not, review anyway. I'd love to have some flames. E.  
_

 _Happy thoughts, happy thoughts.  
Until the next time, then!_


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